Luke Harkness, Author at Luke’s Blog

05Jul 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Still Life by Sarah Winman book review

There are some books that receive an awful lot of praise and hype when you post about them on social media, Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus was one and Still Life by Sarah Winman is another. This always then buries a high expectation into you whilst you’re reading it and, unfortunately, you often find that the book can never reach the hype that social media has set for it. Either it’s not your thing or the mass of audience who came to tell you it's great aren’t into the sort of books you like. Still Life isn’t one of those books. It’s brilliant. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a…

04Jul 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Way It Is Now by Garry Disher book review

Book reviews, Crime

The Way It Is Now is a book that I was kindly sent by Viper Books as a proof copy quite a while ago. After showing my partner my TBR bookshelf which I’ve broken down into books sent to me to review and books I’ve bought - she chose this from the ‘books sent to me’ list. I had absolutely no idea of what the premise of the book would be when I picked it up and, after finishing it, I'm still not 100% confident of what the point of it was. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means if you choose to purchase any products using the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not…

03Jul 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

The 8 Books I Read in June 2023 and what I thought about them

Features, Monthly Round Ups

Being a book blogger (and a general fan of reading) I read a fair amount of books a month. Therefore, I like to write an article each month stating the books I’ve read so if you, like me, are a book blogger or a general fan of reading, you can pick up some reading ideas. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. In June, I managed to pack in eight books. I’m not sure how I had such a productive reading month and still manage to squeeze in three fantasy books…

30Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

The Sanctuary by Andrew Hunter Murray book review

Book reviews, Mystery, Thriller

I saw that The Sanctuary was doing quite well in the 'best-seller' charts recently and so decided, after having kindly been sent it by Viper Books last year, that I'd pick up the early copy they'd sent across to me. The premise was an interesting one - it's about a man whose fiancé goes off to work on this project on an island with a billionaire and then decides to potentially call off their engagement because something on the island is telling her she should stay and focus on that. Therefore, he must go and find her and convince her to come back home with him. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via any of the links below,…

29Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

The Assassin of Malcoze by Bryan Asher book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

Quite a long time ago I was sent a couple of books by Bryan Asher: The Assassin of Malcoze, the book this review is about, and The Treasure of Lor-Rev. The idea behind the books is that they're all set in the same world but aren't necessarily directly linked to one another story-wise. It's an interesting premise that allows Asher to write different books but brings people into the idea that they're all connected. The Assassin of Malcoze is the "first" in the series and focuses on the short stories of three people from Malcoze (one of the settings in the world). Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a small comission…

22Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness 2 Comments

Did Atomic Habits by James Clear actually change anything about my life?

Book reviews, Nonfiction

I recently read through (and listened through) the entirety of Atomic Habits by James Clear. It's the first book I've read in the 'productivity'/'self-help' genre and so I thought, rather than my usual review where I try to break the book down into a review of the plot and a review of the characters and then round it off with a summary, I'd try something a bit different. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via any of the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the products. For those of you who've not heard of it, Atomic Habits is one of…

16Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

We all know I absolutely love fantasy books - there's something about the imaginative setting, the idea of things being formed and created that aren't real and reading about a story and setting that's so much more grand and interesting than our own. Therefore, when a new fantasy series comes along and starts to get some hype, I always have to try and get my hands on a copy of the first book in the series to see if it's my type of thing. Of Blood and Fire and its subsequent The Bound and the Broken series of books have been receiving said hype and I must say, I can see why. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products…

15Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

Foundation by Isaac Asimov book review

Book reviews, Sci-Fi

Recently I've been on a huge science fiction kick, something I noted in my ReInception review. Therefore, when I was doing my research into what some of the best science fiction novels are, Asmimov's name kept popping up and his Foundation series kept popping up the most often. In fact, I think somewhere I read it referred to as "the best science fiction series of all time" which is quite some praise. Therefore, I thought "Perfect, this should scratch my itch!" But did it? Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via any of the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links don't affect my final opinion of the…

13Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness 1 Comment

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie book review

Book reviews, Fantasy

I've read The Blade Itself before - well I've listened to the audiobook and can't say that at the time I enjoyed it that much. I thought the characters were good but the plot never seemed to get going and it didn't feel like Abercrombie had a lot of plans for the plot itself. The second time around, I appreciated the characters even more and understand what Abercrombie is trying to do with the story. Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via the links below, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. The Blade Itself is the first book in The First…

10Jun 2023 by Luke Harkness No Comments

ReInception by Serena Straus book review

Book reviews, Sci-Fi

A couple of weeks ago I was on a massive science fiction high, I was watching Silo on TV, reading about some Warhammer stuff coming out (not a big fan but seeing if it's something worth getting into) and so reading ReInception felt the perfect fit for me and I would say it very much scratched my itch! Please note that this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any products via any of the links below, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. These affiliate links do not affect my final opinion of the product. Please note that I was kindly sent a copy of ReInception by Serena in return for an honest review. ReInception is set over 100…

Author: Luke Harkness